The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1887-11-15
EVA'S LESSON.
A Story Young Husbands and
Wives Should Read.

There were indications of domestic
storm brewing as Richard Hayes entered
his house at seven o'clock one fine
evening in June; his little three-year-
old Mary ran eagerly to meet him, and
baby Harry stretched out his dimpled
hands and prattled glad welcome.
but his wife's face showed that no
pleasant greeting awaited him from
her.
$50 you have condescended to put
In an appearance at last!' she said an
grily. 81 concluded you intended to
stay all night watching that silly base
ball game and guzzling beer"
Richards face flushed painfully at
the last taunt, so wholly undeserved.
Although harsh words were becoming
of almost daily occurrence in his
once happy home, he felt them most
keenly now as they were uttered in the
presence of an intimate friend, who had
never before seen these too frequent
outbursts of anger.
"Well, come to supper" Eva said
ungraciously, ''you have kept us wait
ing an hour, and I've no doubt Clarice
is half starved"
Clarice protested pleasantly, and
Richard made courteous excuses for his
delay, but Eva was too angry and i'm
patient to heed them. Her sharp words
and unkind reproaches marred all the
pleasure there might have been at her
neatly-spread supper-table.
At the earliest moment Richard es-
capped from the unpleasant home atmos-
phere and took his little ones out for 8
walk.
To Clarice the whole scene had been
painful. Slight indications of growing
hnhappiness between her friend and
her husband had been betrayed before,
but nothing like this. And it had been
such a pleasant home. She remem-
bered how proud Eva had been of her
handsome. even-tempered husband,
how devotedly she had seemed to love
him in those early days. She recalled
the tender condolences Eva had poured
into her ears of his patience, his con-
slant kindness and generous devotion;
but now, in her impotence and ill-tem-
per, every thing was wrong-petty
faults and foibles, that would have
passed unnoticed in the old days, We're
dwelt upon harshly and magnifed into
serious defects.
A merry. thoughtless girl, fond of
society and gay pleasures, Eva had
taken upon herself the duties of wife
and mother without thought of how
weary the burden might prove to be.
For two or three years she bore them
remarkably we'll; she was very proud
of her handsome husband, her pleasant
home and her bright. sprightly little
girl, whom every one admired and
petted. But with the coming of the
second child her cares increased, the
household duties became heavier, and
her confinement to home closer. She
never realized how largely the nervous
irritation which made her so cross and
fault-fnding was caused by these
things.
Confined to her close, warm rooms
day after day, with rarely any other
society than her little ones, who shared
her irritability, the troubles had in
creased rapidly.
From an occasional impatient word.
1t had grown to sharp. angry re-
proaches and constant fault-fnding,
until Richard was beginning to seek
pleasure in the society of friends out.
side, only to be met with still harshel
words each time on his return.
Thoughtless and ignorant of the laws
of health, it never occurred to either
that ride or walk each day. few
hours in the open air, would do more
to cure all this trouble than would
either sermons or good resolutions.
The day of Clarice's visit every thing
had gone wrong. 1t had been very
warm, and Eva had spent many hours
In her close, hot kitchen, over the iron.
Ing and baking, while May-mischiev.
Gus little puss-had been unusually